The BlackBerry awesomeness keeps on rolling out of Mobile World Congress! Earlier today I showed you a demo of a document sharing app on BlackBerry PlayBook which was created by The Astonishing Tribe, now known as the Design Foresights team at RIM, a company acquired in December 2010. That app is called Confetti and RIM just put up an official concept demo video of it along with a video for another concept app called PitchRocket.

Check out the demo videos and some snippets from RIM’s blog below!

TAT CONCEPT APPS!

Do you ever wonder how your BlackBerry smartphone’s durability is tested? RIM today posted a few videos showing what they do to make sure BlackBerry devices are strong enough to deal with real-world mishaps. From the Inside BlackBerry Blog:

Today, I’m going to give you an inside look at the testing we do during the development of your BlackBerry® smartphone to help ensure it lives up to the high standards that BlackBerry is known for. Our team works to make sure that your BlackBerry smartphone is both durable and reliable – which basically means we try to break them so that you, #TeamBlackBerry, would be hard pressed to do the same. =D

Your BlackBerry smartphone is your connection to your friends and family. It is your lifeline, and we want it to always stay in operating condition so that you can stay in contact with the important people in your life. So when you accidentally drop your BlackBerry smartphone, or sit on it, or spill your morning coffee on it, we want it to keep working.

So how do we work to ensure that your BlackBerry smartphone will keep working? Well, we drop them, bend them, shock them, soak them and zap them…a lot.

The horror! The following videos are not for the feint of heart .

WATCH THE VIDEOS!

Last night I let you know that RIM named Thorsten Heins its new President and CEO. While many of you might not be happy with this change, I think this “shake up” is exactly what RIM needs. Along with the press release about his appointment from yesterday, RIM also posted some video interviews with Thorsten where he talks about RIM’s strengths, the next 5 years, growth and enthusiasm, PlayBook 2.0, the best people, motivation and his proudest moment.

Check out the videos below!

WATCH THE VIDEOS!

RIM today let me know they’ve updated the Facebook app for the BlackBerry PlayBook with a few new features. It’s been a while since the app was last updated, today’s update being the first with new features since its launch. Here are the changes for version 2.1:

• Facebook Groups – Share and interact with groups on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. View groups you are members of; post updates, photos and videos; view profiles of group members and send messages; get notified of new group posts and interactions.
• Improved Media Access – Easily view friends’ photos and videos from users’ Profiles with the added new photo and video buttons. The photo and video uploading capabilities are also now more apparent on the Photo tab. Simply click the Photos or Videos button to upload the corresponding media type.

For more info and to get the app go to blackberry.com/facebook, search for it in BlackBerry App World or read more at the Inside BlackBerry Blog.

A few weeks ago I let you know about RIM’s BBM Challenge contest where a few lucky fans would have the chance to become a protege for celebrities including Whitney Port, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jared Eng, Lauren Berer, Greyson Chance and Hope Solo. Today they let me know they’ve selected 150 “Protégés” from the United States and Canada in the first challenge, called Perspective. Here’s the breakdown:

• Whitney Port, Fashion – Protégés are going to hit the streets with their BlackBerry® smartphones to document all the hottest trends they spot around town by using the camera or taking video.
• Michelle Trachtenberg, Film –Protégés and their teams will need to get on their BlackBerry® smartphones to get everyone together to watch a movie that’s been remade. After the viewing, they’ll need to record a discussion with friends about why they thought the re-created movie was better or worse than the original.
• Jared Eng, Pop Culture – Protégés will demonstrate what they’re made of when it comes to pop culture. Planking, yarn bombing…what will they think of next? They need to make videos using their BlackBerry® smartphone of the current pop culture obsessions and showing the world just why they’re so into it.
• Lauren Berger, Entrepreneurship - Protégés are going to do some research using their BlackBerry® smartphones on companies that have made green improvements. Then, they’ll need to come up with a business idea of their own that would help a business go green.
• Greyson Chance, Music - Protégés will list their dream BBM™ Music playlists on Facebook® or Twitter® to see how many of their friends are feeling it!
• Hope Solo, Sports – Protégés will show a fresh perspective on a training regimen for any sport they like. With their BlackBerry® smartphones, they can schedule training times with the calendar app and use the video recorder to film the regimen in HD!

For more info and to follow the BBM Challenge contest go to bbmchallenge.com.

Shazam today announced that their Shazam Encore app for BlackBerry will be part of the Thank You Gift selection of free apps and games from RIM. These selection of free apps and games is RIM’s way of showing appreciation for user loyalty during the recent BlackBerry Internet Service outage that affected nearly all users. From Shazam’s blog post:

A heads up for all BlackBerry Shazamers! In early November you’ll be able to download Shazam Encore – our premium App worth $4.99 for FREE from BlackBerry App World.

No Limits. Unlimited tagging with Encore means you can Shazam as often as you like to buy music, get lyrics, watch videos and more…

And it’s all thanks to BlackBerry! To show their appreciation for your loyalty and support during last week’s service interruption – BlackBerry Subscribers will get a choice pick of premium apps free of charge – find out more here*! Nice one BlackBerry!

* Please note that the availability of this offer will depend on the type of device, operating system version, access to BlackBerry App World and local conditions and/or restrictions.

For now you can keep an eye on the Thank You Gift category of BlackBerry App World for other free app and game releases from RIM.

via Shazam

Polarbit today released four new games for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that look like great time wasters. The games are Raging Thunder, Wave Blazer, Armageddon Squadron and ToonWarz, each offering different types of gameplay. As a fan of first-person shooters, I can’t wait to try ToonWarz. While the graphics of these games don’t match that of Dead Space, as one commenter said “it has a more retro feel” which I’m sure will appeal to many. Each game is available for $2.99.

Check out all of Polarbit’s games here in BlackBerry App World or find some gameplay videos and descriptions for each game below!

VIDEOS & DESCRIPTIONS!

Nobex today released a free application for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The app for BlackBerry smartphones is among the most popular streaming radio apps available and offers a bunch of great features. Here’s what you can do with the PlayBook app:

• Listen to radio stations in your country for free! (With the premium version you can listen to over 16,000 radio stations from more than 100 countries).
• Watch YouTube videos of your favorite songs.
• Share what you listen to on facebook and twitter.
• Read artist and song information.

For more info go to nobexrc.com or to download the app get it here in BlackBerry App World.